You Can't Hide it from Me
by btamamura
Summary: Albert is in a low mood, though does not know why, and decides to hide it from his friends. Of course, he should know he can't hide it from D'Artagnan!


**Disclaimer:** _I do not own_ _ **Albert the Fifth Musketeer**_ _or the characters. They belong to their respective owners._

 **Notes:** ** _I am in a very low mindset with a lot going on making life all the harder for me. So, I wrote this as a creative means of letting some of it out of my system. This references events in past fanfics of mine, especially_** _Recovering from All Wounds_ ** _._**

 _ **This is platonic; there is just brotherly-love and strong friendship being expressed, not slash, not romance. It might get a bit OOC at times.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoy it!**_

 _ **(Linebreaks hate me, so I will use**_ _AdPCD_ _ **.)**_

AdPCD

The crow of the rooster filled the air, signalling to all in Monsieur de Treville's mansion that it was time to wake up, greet the day and prepare for come what may.

Usually, the smallest resident would sit up, eyes shining and looking out the window with a large smile on his face, bidding the day a fond _good morning_. But, there was something different that morning. The petit blond let out a groan as he fought to open his eyes. He slowly sat up, yawned and sighed. _Hm, I don't quite feel like myself today,_ he pondered as he threw back the covers. He thought about why his mood wasn't its default cheerful, but nothing was coming to mind. "It must just be _one of those days_ , I suppose," he murmured, throwing off his nightwear and changing into his uniform.

AdPCD

He sat at the table, deep in thought. There was something wrong, surely. He wasn't one to have _one of those days_ without a reason.

"Then, that rascal...Albert? Are you alright?" Porthos asked.

The smallest Musketeer blinked out of his trance and looked up, regarding the concerned faces of his friends, comrades and brothers. He'd almost forgotten that he was having breakfast with them, so stuck in his thoughts as he was. "Oh! Please do excuse me, I didn't mean to space out like that." He forced a smile. _I must not let them know._

Porthos just chuckled. "Quite alright, you were probably thinking up some new invention."

He hated to lie, but when cornered, he wouldn't find it against his principles to tell half-truths. "I certainly _was_ deep in thought."

D'Artagnan frowned, not caring if it was noticeable. _No, something's wrong._ He decided to keep an eye on the youngest Musketeer that day, just to see if things improved or steadily worsened.

"As you were saying, Porthos?"

The bulky man nodded. "So, as I was saying, that rascal..."

AdPCD

As the day passed, it was becoming clear that all was not well. D'Artagnan had noticed the whole day that Albert had a forced smile, his concentration was lacking and he sometimes had a tremble in his voice. He was surprised none of the others had noticed, but then again, Albert had still been subtle. Not subtle enough to hide the truth from him though. D'Artagnan had a strong bond with the petit blond, he could read him like a book and knew when something was off by the slightest of hints. It was the same vice-versa, though while D'Artagnan was always more open with his emotions, Albert tended to be more reserved in expressing them; exceptions being outright joy or, when circumstances were dire and with someone he trusted, immense sorrow.

It seemed like someone was going to have to get to the bottom of what was causing his small friend some upset, and since he was the only one to notice it, it would be him. With the decision made, he pushed open the door to the workshop and stepped inside.

AdPCD

Albert was feeling worse than he had that morning. He supposed the pressure of the sorrow he felt was building and in need of release, but he figured he could take care of that later. He heard the door open and turned to see who entered. "Oh, hello, D'Artagnan!" he greeted. A sliver of his smile was genuine, he always enjoyed seeing his closest friend. But, it was mostly forced. "Is something wrong...?" He noticed the brun was frowning.

"I should be asking _you_ that, Albert. You've seemed off all _day_."

"Oh, no. It's surely nothing."

He crossed his arms and raised a brow. "Uh-huh, I'm sure. So, why is it that your smile is fake?"

The game was up; he should've known D'Artagnan would've seen through it. He let it fall. "I should've known it would not fool you."

"Of course not. I can read you too well." He dropped his arms by his sides and stepped closer to his friend. "Right now, I can see you are about to break. What's caused this? You know you can tell me, right?"

"I don't know..."

His emerald eyes widened. "Don't you trust me?"

At that, the blond's sky-coloured soul windows also flew wide open. "Oh, _no_! I wasn't saying _that_ in response to your _second_ question, but more to your _first_! Of _course_ I trust you, my dear, _dear_ friend!"

He let out a quiet sigh and knelt in front of the blond. "So, you don't know what's wrong?"

"No, and I still haven't been able to work out why I feel like this. I'm sure it's not related to my mother..."

He nodded in understanding. "If it was her birthday, you'd be back home at the moment. If it was her anniversary, you'd be excused from your duties."

He returned the nod with his own. "But, ever since I woke up this morning, I have just been feeling... _off_. I thought it would've passed as the day progressed, but it hasn't. As you said, I must look like I am about to break because I feel that way." He bowed his head. "I didn't want to cause any concern, so I tried making it seem like all was well. Of course, it didn't work with you."

"Is it just _one of those days_?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. If it was, it would've passed by now, surely! There is something else wrong, but I don't quite know what..."

The brun thought about it. _When it comes to Albert, there are two situations that have brought him distress over the years. The first concerns his mother's passing. He told me himself he couldn't even bring himself to smile for five years following. But, if it's not his mother, then it must be..._ _ **oh**_ _._ Without warning, he pulled the petit blond into an embrace. "I know what's wrong now. Even years later, even after you've healed from the worst of it, it still hurts you?"

His eyes were wide, he certainly did not expect the sudden hug. It was comforting and secure, he felt safe. But, it was still unexpected. "D'Artagnan...?"

Suddenly realising what he had done, he pulled back, keeping his hands on Albert's shoulders. "Albert, did you remember _that_?"

He thought hard about it and realised he had. "I didn't realise it this morning, but I must've had a nightmare about it."

"Nightmare? Or flashback?"

"Hm, I suppose _flashback_ would be more appropriate."

"It's been a couple of years since then and you've seemed fine. In fact, I would've known if you hadn't, you can't hide it from me. So, why now? What brought it all back?"

He shook his head. "I don't know." He gasped and looked up at the brun, the blue of the sky looking into the emerald of grass. "Unless it has to do with yesterday!"

"Yesterday, huh? None of us were hurt though."

"But, there were still as many Guards as that day. I know you all came out of it unscathed, and I know you survived last time, but...I think subconsciously, I was still scared of it happening again. I saw your wounds as they were healing, I know how severe they were and how you were able to survive." He swallowed back a lump in his throat as he felt his eyes burning. "But...but, I..."

"It was acknowledged a couple of years ago that there will always be a part of you that hurts from those memories. You've never been good at handling trauma, have you?"

He shook his head.

"I know that, even now, nobody will make you resign from the Musketeers, so I'm not worried about that. I am worried about you."

"I'm sorry..."

"Shh, don't be. I've told you that before too, not to be sorry for making me worried. I'm worried because I care about you, I love you. You're the little brother I never had."

"I love you too, D'Artagnan. I can't believe this is still causing me distress."

"Considering you feared we were going to die, it's understandable." He pulled him back into the embrace, removing the blond's hat and tenderly stroking the back of his head in a comforting manner. It was a paternal touch, it would surely be what Albert needed to finally let go.

He gripped his friend's tabbard tightly, squeezed his eyes shut, opened his mouth and uttered a near-silent sob.

AdPCD

"Thank you."

"Feel a little better now?"

"No. I feel _much_ better. I needed that."

He felt his tabbard being released and pulled back from the embrace, handing his friend his hat. "Anytime, Albert."

He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his eyes before putting his hat back on. "I normally don't appreciate others invading my personal business, but for you I'll always make an exception. You knew something was wrong, you were the one to figure out what was wrong and you helped me let it out. Thank you."

He smiled. "Always, Albert. Just as you do for me."

"Always, D'Artagnan."

"After all, you know I love you."

"Do I know that? _Yes_." For the first time that day, he wore a genuine smile. "Yes, I do."

AdPCD

 **After-notes:** _**The idea for this story came about when**_ _Shychick_ _ **pointed out how D'Artagnan was able to easily pick up on Albert feeling uneasy in**_ _Anatole's Treasure_ _ **, despite Albert being quiet and otherwise subtle about it. The last couple of lines were, again, inspired by a conversation with**_ _Shychick_ _ **about how those lines from**_ _Zootopia_ _ **seemed like something these two could say to each other, so I used the ones from the novelisation.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! You don't have to review, but please don't flame if you do choose to say anything. Constructive criticism is welcomed, of course!**_


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